These are out of this world...from Marilyn. I hope someone can add the photos since they are only on my print out not my Flickr site..yet.

Lemon Brownies I know there are many lemon dessert lovers here so I want to share this. These were a huge hit at our cook out.
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter; room temperature
4 eggs
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Zest from 1 lemon
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Additional lemon zest for garnish
Preheat oven to 350. Line the bottom only of a 9X13X2-inch baking dish with Parchment paper and spray with Pam. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar and salt; add butter. Stir together eggs, juice from 1/2 lemon and zest from 1 lemon; stir into batter and pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until set. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. When brownies are cool prepare glaze by stirring together powdered sugar and 2 tablespoon lemon juice; drizzle over brownies and sprinkle with additional lemon zest.
*Recipe inspired by Orange Brownies by Robin Wilson, 39th Pillsbury Bake-off finalists. Presented on the Food Network by Paula Deen. (Original recipe called for more sugar and for orange extract, I think the real thing is better.)
Marilyn

Lemon Coconut Bars

Cookie type: bar

This is one from my Moms collection. This recipe came out of the Farm Journal Christmas Book, 1970.

Ingredients

1 cup sifted flour
¼ cup flour
2 eggs beaten until light
¼ cup sifted confectioners sugar
½ cup butter
¾ cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 teas grated lemon rind
½ cup flaked coconut
½ teas baking powder
Confectioners sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 1 cup flour and ¼ cup confectioners sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Pat mixture evenly into a 9x9x2 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool. Combine ¾ cup sugar, ¼ cup flour and baking powder. Add eggs and blend. Then add lemon juice, rind and coconut. Spread this mixture on top of the crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

I posted here asking for help once, never shared any recipes. But, I had to jump in to share my MIL's Tangy Lemon Bars. I've tried many and none are as good as these IMO!

Tangy Lemon Bars

2 cups flour
1 cup butter or marg
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Cut (soft) butter into flour and powdered sugar. Pat into a 9x13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Remove from oven.

2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs (beaten)
6 tablespoons lemon juice
Mix sugar,flour and baking powder. Add eggs and lemon juice. Blend. Pour over baked crust mixture. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool bars and frost with the following:
3 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons soft butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice.

I have to put in a pitch for Rose Levy Beranbaum's Ultimate Lemon Bars, my personal all-time favorite in the lemon category. No flour in the filling, only pure lemon curd on a pre-baked shortbread crust.

(Her Christmas Cookies book is fabulous all year round.)

The Ultimate Lemon Butter Bar
From Roses Christmas Cookies by Rose Levy Beranbaum (HarperCollins, 1998) Adapted by StarChefs

Yield: 18 Servings

Ingredients:

Shortbread base:
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ¼ cups bleached all-purpose flour

Lemon curd topping:
2 teaspoons lemon zest, finely grated
4 large egg yolks
¾ cup sugar
3 ounces lemon juice, freshly squeezed
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Pinch of salt
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar, for dusting

Method:
Line the bottom and two sides of an 8-inch by 8-inch by 2-inch metal baking pan with a strip of aluminum foil. Place 1 oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 325°F for at least 20 minutes before baking. If using a glass pan, lower the oven temperature by 25°F.

For shortbread base:
Cut butter into 1-inch cubes and refrigerate. In a food processor with metal blades, process the sugar 1 minute or until very fine. Add butter and pulse until the sugar disappears. Add flour and pulse until moist, crumbly pieces form, and no dry flour particles remain. Transfer mixture into a plastic bag and press it together. Remove from bag and knead dough lightly until it holds together.

Pat the dough into the prepared pan. Use a fork to prick the dough all over.
Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and the top is pale golden (do not brown). While the shortbread is baking prepare the topping.

For lemon curd topping:
Have ready near the range a strainer, suspended over a medium bowl containing the lemon zest.

In a heavy non-reactive saucepan, beat the yolks and sugar until well blended. Stir in the lemon juice, butter and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly (be sure to scrape the sides of the pan), until thickened and resembling hollandaise sauce, which thickly coats a wooden spoon but is still liquid enough to pour. The mixture will change from translucent to opaque and begin to take on a yellow color on the back of a wooden spoon. It must not be allowed to come to a boil or it will curdle. Whenever steam appears, remove the pan briefly from the heat, stirring constantly, to keep the mixture from boiling. When the curd has thickened, pour it at once into the strainer. Press with the back of a spoon until only the coarse residue remains. Discard the residue (or enjoy it as a treat--it tastes great). Stir gently to mix in the zest sitting in the bowl.

When the shortbread is baked, remove it from the oven, lower the temperature to 300°F, pour the lemon curd on top of the shortbread, and return it to the oven for 10 minutes. Cool the lemon curd-topped shortbread completely in the pan on a wire rack. Refrigerate the pan for 1 hour to set the lemon curd completely before cutting into bars.

Run a small metal spatula between the sides of the pan and the pastry on the 2 sides without the aluminum foil. Use the foil to lift out the lemon curd-covered shortbread onto a cutting surface. Using a long sharp knife, cut the shortbread first in thirds, then in half the other way, and then cut each half in thirds. Wipe the blade after each cut.

Place powdered sugar in a strainer and tap the strainer with a spoon to sprinkle a thick, even coating over the lemon curd. (The powdered sugar will start to be absorbed into the lemon curd after several hours, but it can be reapplied before serving. The lemon bars may be stored in an airtight container for 3 days at room temperature, 3 weeks in the refrigerator, or 3 months in the freezer.

Smart Cookie Tips:
Cooking the topping before pouring it onto the shortbread ensures crispness as opposed to the usual pastiness of the pastry.

Returning the curd to the oven, where it will be exposed to heat without stirring, causes the yolk to rebond, making it firm enough to cut after cooling.

If each lemon is heated about 10 seconds in a microwave oven on high power and rolled around while pressing on it lightly, it will release a significantly greater quantity of juice.

Sugar raises the coagulation point of the egg yolk. It also protects it from premature coagulation during the addition of the lemon juice. If the juice were added directly to the unprotected yolk, the yolk would partially coagulate and, when strained, a large percentage of it would be left behind in the strainer. Be sure to mix the sugar well with the egg yolks before adding the juice.

Carol

Here's another one Bobby and Marilyn's Brownies are very good. I'll have to try some of the others above and the ones that I'm sure will follow.

David

Posted by Ginger_St_Thomas (My Page) on
Wed, Aug 10, 05 at 5:06

LEMON BARS DELUXE

2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
2 sticks butter
4 beaten eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp baking powder
Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk together 2 cups of the flour & the confectioners' sugar. Cut in the butter until the mixture clings together. Press the dough into a 13x9x2" baking dish. Bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.
Meanwhile, beat together the eggs, granulated sugar & lemon juice. Mix the remaining 1/4 cup flour with the baking powder; stir into the egg mixture & pour over the hot baked crust. Bake for 25 minutes longer. Remove from the oven & sprinkle w/confectioners' sugar. Cool. Cut into squares.~~From Mountain Measures.

Oh yeah David...those are another one I really liked. I think I made lemon bars of one sort or another so often in 2005 that we ...uh ...gained a LOT of weight.

Carol, how can Ms. Beranbaum make a simple shortbread with lemon curd recipe soooooo long.?!?!?!? I have to go back and read it thru but I often think...Rose!! Simplify!!!
Oh well, she IS precise. ;-) Maureen

Hi Maureen. Actually I got that one off Starchefs and I think they made it even longer with their notes at the end. (I was too lazy to type it in if I could find it online!)

You're right. Sometimes she drives me nuts, but I have to admit in some cases her precision really pays off. I'd made a lot of lemon bars before this and there were moments when I was reading and stirring, reading and stirring, thinking, "This is so-o-o not worth it." But it is. The über lemon bar.

Carol

Carol, as a certified lemon lover I agree, those are the best lemon bars I've ever eaten, even though they are kind of a PIA.

I also like Marilyn's Lemon Brownies but I have to tell you that there just wasn't enough lemon in there for me, LOL. I doubled the lemon juice and was happy, but you have to really like lemon to do that.

Annie

Oh darn, since lemon is my very favorite, I thnk I will make all of the above. I am like Annie: I like my lemon very strong and pungent. My mouth wants to pucker when I eat one, LOL.

Oh Sherry...do shut up...I'm drooling now!! Fortunately for me I have no lemons in the house. ;-) Maureen

I haven't made it for a while but it's really delicious and is very lemoney!
It's a lemon slice which can be served as a dessert with a mound of whipped cream on the side of the plate.

1 1/2 cups (350 mL) Graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup (75 mL) packed brown sugar
1/2 teasp (2 mL) baking powder
1/8 teasp (0.5 mL) salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) butter or margarine

10 oz (284 mL)sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup (125 mL) lemon juice
1 teasp (5 mL) vanilla

Bottom Layer

Crumble first 5 ingredients together well and pack into 9 x 9 inch (22 x 22 cm) ungreased pan. Set aside.

Top Layer

Combine milk, lemon juice and vanilla in bowl and stir. Spread over bottom layer.
Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool and cut into 36 squares.

Source: "Company's Coming" - 150 Delicious Squares
Jean Paré

My Note: As a dessert slice it into larger portions and serve with whipped cream.

SharonCb

Maureen, I was there with ya in 05....weight gain too..lol!

David

Boo, I made your recipe last night. It was OK, but I goofed a bit. I was cleaning up and accidentally knocked the oven knob down to 200 degrees. It wasn't set after 25 minutes. I looked at the oven thermometer and realized what had happened. So I had to raise it back to 350 and leave them in longer. The outcome tastes pretty good. I only had an 8x8 pan, not a 9x9 so they are a little thicker they would have been if I used the right one. Can't wait to try the others.

I'm sorry they didn't fulfill your cookie bar dreams. Maybe these will (I couldn't find the recipe the other day):

White Chip Lemon Bars

Cookie type: bar

This is another favorite from Hersheys Best Loved Recipes, 2000. These cookies are yummy, tart and sweet all at the same time. This recipe makes 36 bars.

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
¾ cup white chocolate chips
2 eggs
¼ cup lemon juice
2 teas grated lemon peel
powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together 1 cup flour and ¼ cup sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch square baking pan. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and sprinkle white chocolate chips over crust.

Stir together eggs, lemon juice, lemon peel, remaining ¼ cup flour and remaining ¾ cup sugar in a medium bowl. Carefully pour over chips and crust. Bake 25 minutes or until set. Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into bars.

Boo, I'm trying those..Hubby loves lemon flavor and...white chocolate...

I'm bumping this because i did a search for lemon bars and missed this thread last fall -- I'm having a group of women in next week and need a relatively simple lemon dessert recipe that is easy to cut and serve while people are moving around - are the lemon brownies really dense like a chocolate brownie? Are they fool-proof? ;) (hard to answer when you don't know the fool making them, right?!)

BlueIris, Thanks for bringing this back up..I totally forgot about those White Chip Lemon Bars...

Well, I do mine from a box! LOL I've never made it with fresh lemons... yet!

I just use Sheriff's Lemon Pie Filling with a graham crust. Sprinkle top with a little reserved graham crumbs, or with whipped cream and crumbs, or with a meringue.

Khandi, you should try making a lemon filling from scratch. So much better than Sheriff's. I never liked lemon pie as a kid because it was always made from a box. Now I love homemade lemon curd.

I made Sharon's recipe last night. So easy and so good. It wasn't called for but I added lemon zest to the filling. I also prebaked the crust just because that is what I would normally do when using a graham cracker crust. I will definitely make these again.

ahh, Ann, those look SO good!

I second Nodakgal's recipe. I just checked a recipe I've had for at least ten years from a very good friend. These are hands down the best lemon bars we've had. Her family was in the bakery business. I need to get my hands on some more recipes. The only difference is that she does not use the topping (although it looks delicious!). She dusts with powdered sugar.